Light's Dark Mistress
by onceuponastories
Summary: When it looks like all hope is lost, and nothing can be done to win the war, shocking revelations bring new hope to the Light. But what if that hope has loved the Dark for as long as it can remember? Where do loyalties truly lie when your head is full of Light, but your heart yearns for Dark? In the end which one do you choose?
1. Chapter 1-Constant Vigilance

**Hey Lovelies so one of my stories is now completely finished, the writing process anyway, and so I've taken on a second new challenge this week. I want you all to let me know what you think of this one, it's different than anything else I've done so far, and I have added too this chapter since it first went up! I would love to hear your thoughts!**

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Chapter 1 – Constant Vigilance

There was a collective silence throughout The Burrow as the members of the Order tried to determine what they were going to do next. Dumbledore had perished less than a month earlier, at the hand of a man that they had included in their ranks. There had been more murders, more unexplained disappearances, more "accidents", and they were at a loss. There were far fewer people willing to fight for the loosing side in a war.

"What are we going to do? We can't just sit by and do nothing! Snape was a traitor, now they have all of our secrets! What is he waiting for? How do we find out what's going on if we don't have someone we can trust on the inside?" Harry was pacing the kitchen, far too worked up to sit calmly and discuss things rationally.

There was a knock on the back door and Harry, being the one that was already standing went to answer it. Knowing that only one of their own would be able to make it through the wards surrounding the house he wrenched the door open without looking to see whom it was.

He stormed away into the kitchen only for everyone else to suddenly go silent as they took in the woman standing framed in the doorway. She was tall, with raven-black curls that were streaked with silver hanging loose around her shoulders. Her black dress embroidered with silver thread hugged her figure under a sparkling silver corset laced with emerald laces. Minerva McGonagall looked more like the goddess she was named for than the teacher that they had all come to know.

Alastor Moody was the first to recover from his shock. After all, he remembered seeing her this way before. "Minerva." He stood and nodded his head to her out of respect, offering her his seat at the table.

She gave him a small smile as she stepped over the threshold and shook her head.

"That's alright Alastor, I'm not staying. I did overhear Harry's boisterous questions though, and I think I can provide the answers that he's looking for."

Both of Moody's eyes locked on her as she finished her sentence. "Oh no you don't!" His voice was a lot harsher than many of those around the table were expecting. "You will not be doing that Missy." He pointed a grizzled, twisted finger at her, but she didn't so much as bat an eye.

"I think we are a little old for you to be calling me Missy, Mad-Eye." She raised an eyebrow towards the man she considered her friend.

"I don't care Minerva. You are not going." He was staring her down with both of his eyes, but she was staring right back.

"Who are you to stop me Alastor? If I have the potential to put a stop to this, if after all of these years I can make this right, I have to try."

"No you don't." He took a step towards her. "You know deep down that not one lick of this your fault. You are not responsible for how this all turned out. You cannot blame yourself for this war. It wasn't you that caused this."

"This war, the last war…who knows maybe if I hadn't have done what I did, if I hadn't have left, none of this would have happened! None of those people would have had to die! All of those deaths, I could have stopped them!"

With every sentence her voice was raising and she and Moody were gravitating closer and closer to each other. The rest of the people in the room were watching the interaction like a tennis match, no one really understanding the argument that was happening in front of them.

"Minerva…"

"Oh no you don't. Don't you Minerva me." She stuck out her hand towards him. "I need them Alastor."

"No." He stepped back out of her reach. "You don't have to do this Minerva. You don't have to go back to him." He tried one last time to try and persuade her to change her mind. She did not have to bear the weight of the war, of both wars, on her shoulders. This was not her fault. None of this was her fault. "When you gave them to me you told me that you never wanted to see them again. That if you ever asked for them I was not to give them back."

"I know that!" She snapped at him. "But I can't go waltzing back up there and expect him to simply let me in. He's not going to take me back without them, we both know that, and I have to try." Her voice was calmer this time. "You need eyes on the inside, and I can give them to you."

She looked around at everyone sitting in the room before turning back to face Mad-Eye. "I can save you. All of you. You just have to let me try." She was determined and he could see it in her emerald eyes.

He closed his own for a long moment and took a deep breath in. When he opened them again he let it out and reached slowly into one of the deepest inside pockets of his cloak. From there he pulled a small, black velvet, box. He flipped it open and the light caught the diamonds in the two, delicate, silver, rings that lay nestled together on the satin bed.

He pulled them out as one and took her left hand gently in his. With a sad and resigned smile he pushed the rings up her finger to rest in the place that a long time ago she had vowed they would never leave. She closed her eyes as she felt the weight of them on her hand once more. A single, silent, tear escaped down her cheek as Moody kissed her forehead gently.

"Constant vigilance, Mrs. Riddle." He let her go as they heard the collective gasp echoing from those gathered in front of them.

Minerva turned around to face the room. Surely somebody would say something. This wasn't the kind of news you can receive and then pretend you never knew about. She smiled knowingly when it was Hermione that spoke up first.

"Professor? Is that still alright?" Minerva nodded and Hermione continued. "I don't mean to sound rude or anything, it's just, why did none of us know that you were married? And more specifically, why you were married to him?"

"First of all Hermione, there is no were to it. I am married to him. I have been since we were your age. I was eighteen, he was twenty, and I have been Minerva Riddle for close to half a century. As far as you lot not knowing, it's a secret that I have kept very close all of these years. It's not something that I wanted everyone to know."

"But you're on our side?" Harry was staring at her with piercing green eyes, now that Dumbledore's gone you're in charge of the Light. "How can you be married to the Dark?"

"Harry there is a lot more to a person than the Light and the Dark. We have both inside of us, and we must choose our own paths. I didn't always believe in the same things that my husband did. I didn't make the same choices. Choices are how one becomes Light or Dark."

"But you left him?" Tonks spoke up from next to Remus. "Riddle? You walked away?"

"In a sense. Physically, yes. I left his side and hid behind the one person that he refused to challenge. Now, that person is gone. I have to go back. I have to take my place beside him. It is only chance you all have."

She smiled at them all one last time and turned towards the door to go. "Professor?"

Hermione's voice drew her back around. "Yes Ms. Granger?"

There were tears in Hermione's brown eyes, as she looked up at her mentor from where she was sitting. "How do you know that he will take you back? That he won't just kill you? After all, you left him."

"You're right, I did. But not all of me did. I may have left him, but when you love someone for as long as I loved him. You can never truly leave them behind. I have faith that my husband will take me back because I know more about him than Albus ever dreamed to."

"He didn't know that you were married to him?" Harry looked confused. "How could he not know?"

"Not many people did." Moody spoke up from beside her. "I was one of the few that they trusted enough to let come to the ceremony. They had to have witnesses see. Me and Augusta, well Longbottom by then, for Minerva, and Abraxas Malfoy and," he looked over at Minerva, "who was the other one?"

"Avery."

"Right, well Abraxas and Avery are both dead, and I'm sure Augusta kept your secret. I sure didn't tell anyone. I'd say the three of us are probably the last ones left that know. Besides him of course."

"Narcissa knows."

"What?" He turned to look at her. "How?"

"Abraxas told her. She said he couldn't go to his grave without telling someone, and he thought that she was the safest choice." She paused for a moment, "She is the most gifted Occlumens I've ever encountered. She always was."

"And she told you she knew?"

"When Draco started at Hogwarts. She wrote to me and told me that she knew, and asked if I would watch out for her son." She let out her breath through her nose and shook her head slowly. "It seems I failed at that. Which is why I must return. No one else needs to get hurt. And I truly believe that I can help end this."

"Professor?" Ron spoke up from across the room. "There is only one way this can all end."

Her emerald eyes were like daggers as she turned them on him. "I am well aware of that Mr. Weasley."

"You never answered Hermione's question Professor."

She turned to Harry, "Which one was that?"

"What if he kills you?"

"If I can guarantee you one thing in this world Mr. Potter, it is that I will not die at my husband's hand. He doesn't have it in him." There was a far off look in her eyes, and for a moment nobody moved. Then she shook her head to clear her thoughts and with a tight-lipped smile she spun around and marched towards the door.

The swish of the black fabric behind her, and the glint of silver and emerald in the last dying rays of sunlight as she strode through the yard left Harry with one thought. Mrs. Riddle was by all means an equal to the man she had married.


	2. Chapter 2-Lady Voldemort

**Hey Lovelies, so do me a favor, go back and reread Chapter 1. I added quite a bit to it since it first went up and you are going to need some of the information that it provides for the rest of this story. I had a few people tell me that they wanted me to keep going, so here is the next Chapter, wherein we meet the Lady Voldemort...**

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Chapter 2 – Lady Voldemort

As soon as she had cleared the wards protecting The Burrow Minerva had disappeared with a small pop. Moments later she found herself standing on the gravel path leading towards the gates of Malfoy Manor. She transfigured a leaf into a shimmering, hooded, cloak, the color of a cloudless, midnight, sky.

Stowing her wand away in the holster hidden up her left sleeve she wrapped the cloak around herself and pulled the hood over her curls. She made her way calmly towards the gates of the Manor. She did not know how exactly she would be received and she was putting it off as long as possible.

A small pop alerted her to the presence of another behind her. She spun quickly, keeping her hood up and drawing her wand on the other cloaked figure. She recognized the posture of the man beneath the cloak and she relaxed a tiny amount. Without lowering her hood she turned and continued on her way to the Manor.

Severus called out to her just as she reached the gates. "Minerva?" There was no mistaking the way that she walked, with the grace and stealth of a feline, even in her human form. She didn't answer him, but she paused at the gate and waited for him to catch up. "Minerva?" He turned to look at her when he reached her side. "What on earth are you doing here?"

She didn't look at him, choosing to let her hood hide her features as she answered. "The same thing you are. I've come to speak with him." She raised her left hand and the moonlight that caught on the diamonds resting there, thoroughly distracting Severus for a moment. When he looked back ahead of him he was surprised to see that the gates had vanished entirely.

She had replaced her wand up her sleeve and lowered her hand before she stepped forward up the path. A few steps further on she turned over her shoulder, her face still obscured by the hood. "Aren't you coming Severus?"

Shaking his head at what was happening right before his eyes he followed her up the tree lined drive towards the grand Manor. He couldn't help but chuckle at the disgusted noise she made when one of Lucius's pure white peacocks cut her off. "Not a fan of peacocks?"

"I can turn into a cat Severus, how do you think I feel about birds?" She shot over her shoulder at him. She moved quickly enough that he was having trouble keeping up with her as she sidestepped yet another of the snowy birds on her way to the wide front steps.

She paused in front of the solid, mahogany doors, this was it, she was finally going back to him. "Is there a problem?" His conceited tone didn't make her any less anxious.

"No." She raised her fist and rapped three times on the heavy door.

"It should have opened?" He looked at the door curiously, "Why didn't it open?" He was pondering the situation when the door swung wide, no one stood on the other side. Minerva took a deep breath and then, head held high, stepped through the doorway, Severus right on her heels.

She didn't drop her hood even when the door had swung shut behind them. They hear footsteps approaching from overhead and Lucius and Narcissa Malfoy appeared along the balcony railing. Lucius nodded a stiff greeting to Severus and Narcissa tried to hide her shock at seeing the woman standing next to him. The blonde floated gracefully down the stairs, kissed Severus's cheek on his way past her and stopped respectfully in front of the older woman. Much to her husband's surprise she bowed to the hooded figure.

"May I call an elf to take your cloak, My Lady?"

"That would be lovely Lady Malfoy." With two hands she reached up and flipped her hood back, causing Lucius to become even more surprised.

"McGonagall?" She took her cloak off and handed it to the elf that Narcissa had summoned. Doing her best to ignore the Lord Malfoy she turned again to his wife.

"It's lovely to see you again my dear." She leaned forward and kissed her on the cheek, causing an outright sputtering from Lucius.

"What is going on here?" Both women continued to ignore him and Narcissa offered to escort the older woman upstairs.

"He's just called a meeting, Severus was the last to arrive, though I'm sure that you will upset the delicate balance of things here ever so slightly."

"Only slightly?" She raised an eyebrow at the blonde, glad to see that having her husband as a member of her household hadn't diminished the younger woman's humor.

"No, I'm sure it will cause an uproar." She turned to look over her shoulder at her husband who was still staring at their retreating figures as they walked down the hall away from him. "You saw Lucius's reaction to you. Though I'm not sure if that was surprise that you just willingly waltzed through our front door or that you are wearing such a dress?"

"I rather like this dress…" Minerva looked down at her black garment with appreciation, "It's been cooped up in my wardrobe for far too long."

"It's exquisite, I have a feeling he will take notice. You know that for as much as Bella throws herself at him he won't have anyone but you right?"

Minerva touched Narcissa's arm gently, "I know. That doesn't mean I won't be putting your sister in her place."

"Of course My Lady." She gave a shallow nod of her head in respect to the older woman. "Would you like me to announce you?"

"Please." She smiled and allowed the blonde to pass in front of her and open the door to the drawing room just as Lucius came up beside her. He grabbed her arm and she turned to look at him. "I suggest that you unhand me Lord Malfoy, before you don't have any hands left." She whispered to the man.

They heard Narcissa's voice clearly through the open door. "My Lord, I am sorry to interrupt, but you have a guest."

"Show them in Lady Malfoy." The door opened wider to reveal the two people having a whispered argument in the hall. When Voldemort saw who was standing beside the Lord Malfoy he stood quickly from his seat. "Release her at once Lucius!"

Immediately the Death Eater let go of Minerva and turned to his master, "My Lord,"

"No excuses will be necessary Lucius." Minerva cut him off, but her eyes were locked on the man at the other end of the room. "You really need more obedient followers Tom, it seems Lord Malfoy needs a lesson in listening."

"Well I believe you were always the teacher Minnie, that was supposed to be your job." His voice gave nothing away, but there were some shocked gasps at the way that the two interacted so comfortably with one another. "What are you doing here? Aren't you supposed to by leading the Light against me?"

She smiled and took a step into the room, "Do you wish me to leave?"

"No." His answer was quick and sharp. Collecting himself he started again. "No. I wish you to stay. For as long as you will stay. M'lady." Then he did something that his followers had never seen him do before. He bowed to her.

She glided across the room towards him. Past all of his Death Eaters that were staring at her with open mouths, past Severus, who was still trying to figure out how he had never known about the obvious familiarity between the two, past the glistening snake that she paused to brush her hand over on her way by. When she finally reached him he stood back up and smiled at her.

Taking her hand in his he brought her knuckles to his lips and the entire room caught sight of the glittering diamonds that rested there. "M'lady, you never answered me, what are you doing here?"

"I finally chose to come back." She looked up at him, and though he had changed so much the man that she had married was still hidden within, and she alone could still see him. "I chose to come home."

He smiled down at her as she allowed Nagini to slide up and around her shoulders, before slipping onto his own, effectively pulling the two of them closer together. "Then by all means, welcome home. Lady Voldemort."

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 **Shall I go on...?**


	3. Chapter 3-Thunderstorms

**Hey Lovelies! As this chapter says, "We are all afraid of something." Enjoy!**

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Chapter 3 – Thunderstorms

Minerva stood in one of the large, paned windows of the upstairs library. She was staring out at the garden as the rain fell down in sheets. She could barely see the great trees on the far edge of the manicured lawn; they were merely a shadow in the night, illuminated only by the flashes of lighting that skittered across the sky.

A loud crack of thunder caused her to jump slightly as it shook the glass of the window. "You always did like to watch the rain."

She turned around at the sound of his voice. She had left him alone in the drawing room with his followers, knowing that he would find her when he was finished. She wasn't ready to truly take her place among them yet.

"Only after the night that someone proved there was nothing to be afraid of in the thunder." She smiled and he made his way towards her. They stood together, not quite touching, and watched the rainfall in silence. "Do you remember that night? The first time I wasn't afraid of the rain?"

"Of course." He put his hand on the small of her back and she turned towards him, "How could I forget the first night my world changed?"

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 _Minvera McGonagall sat wrapped in a crimson blanket staring out the window at the pouring rain. She was sixteen, and her long, black hair fell in loose curls down her back. She had never liked the rain, or more specifically the thunder. Growing up in the Scottish Highlands it was a silly fear to have, for there was no escaping the weather._

 _Another clap of thunder crashed and the panes of the windows shook. She heard the door open behind her and she jumped to her feet, wand drawn in front of her. "How did you get in here?"_

 _"_ _The same way you did." His voice was slick and cool, just like the rain falling outside. The lightning flashing outside cast an eerie glow on his dark hair and pale complexion as it illuminated the room. "What are you doing in here Minerva?"_

 _"_ _I could ask you the same question Tom. Shouldn't the Head Boy follow the rules and be in bed at this hour?"_

 _"_ _Perhaps, but I asked you first. It's after midnight, why are you sitting here staring out of the window instead of sleeping?"_

 _She sighed, "I can't sleep. Not with the thunder rolling around out there. It keeps me awake, ever since I was a little girl I could never sleep through the rain."_

 _He moved across the room towards her and pointed his wand at the empty fireplace. Instantly a roaring fire welled up within and he smiled. Extending his hand to her he helped her down off of the window ledge, leaving the blanket behind and led her to the fire. "What makes you so afraid?"_

 _"_ _I don't know." She answered him honestly. They were both quiet for a moment as they stood together in front of the mantle, silhouetted against the flames, "For some reason the thunder does me in, I spend many a sleepless night at home and here in the castle."_

 _"_ _I would imagine. Come here." He led her to the sofa that was in front of the grate and pulled her down next to him as another dangerously loud boom of thunder echoed off of the stone walls of the castle. She squeezed his hand a little tighter than she had meant to. "Nothing is going to hurt you Minerva. I thought you were a Gryffindor, aren't you lot supposed to be brave or something?" There was a teasing note to his voice as he tried to take her mind off of the storm._

 _"_ _We are all afraid of something Tom. Besides you're a Slytherin, shouldn't you be storing away this little detail to use against me later on?" She smiled at him in the dimly lit room, the fire dancing in her emerald eyes._

 _A flash of lightning shone in his as he smiled back at her, "Who says I'm not?"_

 _"_ _I do." She sighed and leaned against his shoulder, "I came here because I couldn't sleep, what brought you to the Room of Requirement so late?"_

 _"_ _Is it late or is it early?" His silver tongue was getting the best of her, and she shook her head trying to hide her smile._

 _"_ _That's not an answer."_

 _"_ _I love the rain. I always have. There is a sense of peace in the midst of a storm, and sometimes, if you listen closely enough, the thunder will tell you all of its secrets."_

 _"_ _The thunder has secrets?" She looked up at him through her eyelashes._

 _He sighed as he peered down at her. "It makes a great confidant when you are feeling alone."_

 _Some of her Gryffindor bravery was returning and she was feeling bold enough to lay her head on his shoulder. "I'll have to remember that in the future."_

 _He was shocked that she felt at ease enough with him to relax, he let her head remain on his shoulder and turned to look out the window. "Be sure that you do, for you never know when you might find yourself alone."_

 _"_ _What does that mean?" She shifted to look up at him again._

 _"_ _I have no idea." He surprised himself by slipping an arm around her waist, "But I know that tonight you don't have to be alone." He pulled her back to rest on his shoulder as he leaned back into the sofa cushions. "Try and get some sleep. I won't let anything hurt you."_

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"You were right you know?" She stepped closer to him, closing the distance between them and resting a hand on his chest. "About the thunder. It makes a great confidant when you don't have anyone else to turn too."

"How many secrets have you told the thunder m'lady?" She looked up at him and saw the man was showing through the monster.

"My fair share." She smiled at him just as there was a knock on the door. She stepped away from him and they turned so that they were both facing away from the window. "Come in."

"Excuse My Lady," Narcissa paused when she noticed that Minerva was not alone, "My Lord." She inclined her head respectfully to them both. "I was merely curious as to whether or not you would be staying the night, if so I will have an elf make up a room for you."

"Thank you Lady Malfoy, I will indeed be staying. Indefinitely now that I've returned."

"Of course My Lady." She smiled briefly at the older woman and then began to back out of the room, but her Lord's voice called her back.

"Lady Malfoy?"

"Yes, My Lord?" She looked up at him, waiting.

He looked over at Minerva for a moment and then back to the blonde woman that was dutifully awaiting whatever she was told. "If my wife would like she need not have chambers of her own, she may share mine."

Narcissa looked to Minerva for confirmation of her actions and she nodded. If she was really coming home she may as well spend the night in his arms again. "As long as it continues to rain I will sleep in his chambers."

"Yes My Lady. My Lord." She left them alone without another word.

Minerva moved back towards her husband. "Tom?"

"Yes?" He turned to look at her instead of the door that Narcissa had left open behind her.

"What did you mean when you said your world changed?"

He tucked a piece of hair gently behind her ear, showing a sense of affection towards her that he allowed no one else to know he even possessed. "That night, sitting there listening to the rain, you fell asleep on my shoulder. You trusted me enough that you could fall asleep." He brushed his fingers down her cheek and along her arm as he took her hand and led her away from the window towards the hall. "My world changed, because suddenly I wasn't the only one in it anymore."


	4. Chapter 4-Painful Memories

**Hey Lovelies! So I have gone back and forth, back and forth trying to decide if I wanted to include this aspect of Minerva and Tom's past, and I think that I have fallen too much in love with this part of their little made up history not to include it. I hope that you are pleased with it. Enjoy!**

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Chapter 4 – Painful Memories

No one questioned why the Master and his Lady did not appear at dinner that night. In fact, no one commented on the inclusion of the new Lady of the Manor at all. It was with grace and poise that Narcissa conducted the house just like she had always done, and many assumed that their Lord had removed Minerva from the house after all.

How very wrong they were. The two had chosen to retire to his private chambers in the guest wing of the house instead of intimidating everyone at dinner with their presence. He led her quietly down the hallway and pushed the door open, holding it out so that she could pass in front of him.

"Are you sure that you will be comfortable in here my dear? It has been many years since we shared chambers."

She had proceeded further into the room while he had remained in the doorway. She turned to look at him with sadness in her green eyes. "I never got the chance to apologize to you for the last time I left."

"Apologize to me?" He swept through the room to stand in front of her. "I should apologize to you my dear. I was the one that failed you. I failed you when I failed to keep her safe."

She reached up to cup his cheek in her hand. "You did your best, you told me what happened that night, and I saw the fight through your eyes. I found you kneeling in her room when I finally arrived. You were just as lost as I was, and I pushed you away. I blamed you for everything." She looked intently into his eyes, "I never got the chance to tell you that I was wrong, that it wasn't your fault at all. That I'm sorry."

"Minnie…" He brought his hand up to take hers away from his cheek. "I don't blame you for hating me, for pushing me away. I blamed myself for years, but now all of that has been redeemed. The man that we should have blamed all along is dead."

Her breath sucked in and tears rushed to her eyes. "Was it really Albus?"

"It was." He took her hand and led her to a cabinet on the far side of the room. He opened it and a pensive floated out. "He wasn't alone, and I extracted the memories of what he had done from the one person that he told. Here, let me show you."

She allowed herself to be pulled towards the basin, but she stopped just short. There were already tears glistening in her eyes. "Who did he tell?"

He met his wife's eyes. "Bathilda Bagshot."

"And you killed her?"

"I did. She had information that we needed." Minerva simply nodded and edged closer to the basin.

"I think I'm ready." She squeezed his hand as he called the memory up to the front. "To face it all again. Show me."

He pulled her with him as he tipped forward into the crystal pensive.

* * *

 _They landed side by side in their own home. Minerva remembered the night that they had entered well. She had been at Hogwarts, she had exams to mark and she had sent a message saying that she planned on staying in the castle that night. She smiled and leaned into Tom's shoulder as she took in the scene in front of her._

 _A younger version of her husband was standing in the kitchen cleaning up a little girl with dark, curly hair and pretty green-brown eyes. "Vayda we have to clean up your face or Mummy is going to get home tomorrow and you're going to be a sticky, dirty mess and Daddy is going to be in trouble." The little girl laughed and squirmed as her father tried to clean the remains of her supper from her cheeks._

 _Minerva looked up at her husband, "This is your memory."_

 _"_ _Aye, but I wanted you to see how happy she was before I broke your heart again." He wrapped an arm around her waist as the scene before them changed. Now they were standing in the memory of Vayda's bedroom. Their daughter sound asleep in her crib when the door opened and Albus Dumbledore came sweeping through it._

 _The sounds of a struggle could be heard from downstairs, but the old man was ignoring it. His attention was instead focused on the sleeping child. He waved his wand over the little girl once and then stowed it away in his cloak. He lifted their baby in his arms and he was gone._

 _There were tears streaming down Minerva's cheeks when the scene shifted again. Now they were in Bathilda's sitting room. Her guest none other than the man that Minerva had just watched steal her child away from her. They were talking about what Albus had done._

 _"_ _He really had a child in that Manor with him?" Bathilda's eyes were wide._

 _"_ _Yes. It seems as though he has a daughter, she looks an awfully lot like him, but her eyes are different. They are lighter, almost shifting between brown and green."_

 _"_ _Do you know who the girl's mother is?"_

 _Albus shook his head. "I'm afraid not. I doubt that he is married, perhaps she only served the purpose of producing him an heir and he got rid of her? I'm afraid I have no real idea, in any case she was not there."_

 _"_ _And the girl? What have you done with her? How old is she? Surely you aren't going to tell anyone who her father is?"_

 _"_ _Of course not. I sent her away and changed her name. She will never know who her real parents are; I blocked them out of her memory. Judging by her size and her skill set I'd say she is about a year and a half old. I do have to say one thing though. She was well taken care of, the man may be a monster, but he provided well for that child."_

 _Minerva shook her head and buried her face in Tom's robes for a moment. She was crying steadily now. Not only had Albus stolen her baby girl, he had blocked her from her memory. Her only child had no idea who she was._

 _"_ _Come on." She heard Tom whisper and together they were shuttled off into another memory, this time one of her own._

 _"_ _Tom…" She whispered when she realized what they were about to relive. "We don't have to see this again."_

 _"_ _I think we need too." He whispered back as they saw a younger version of her walk through the door of the Manor. She made her way slowly through the house. Everything on the lower level was destroyed, there were ruins of the furniture and the paintings lying scattered all around. She hesitated at the library, but couldn't bring herself to open the door._

 _She cautiously made her way upstairs. She hadn't seen any sign of Tom or Vayda yet. The first door that she opened was their bedroom, it was empty, but in pristine condition. It seemed that whatever had caused the chaos downstairs had never made it up the steps._

 _When there was no sign of either of them in the room she shut the door and continued on down the hall. The door to Vayda's room was ajar and Minerva found herself holding her breath, both in the memory and while watching it._

 _They followed her memory of herself down the hall and watched as she pushed the door open. From their place in the hall they could see the younger version of Tom on his knees in front of the crib. The only thing wrong with the room was that their baby girl was nowhere to be found._

 _"_ _Tom?" The memory Minerva had tears in her eyes when she saw her husband on the floor. "What happened?"_

 _"_ _I'm not really sure." He looked up at his wife; his dark eyes seemed black and dead. "Somehow they found out about her, they found out about this place. They came to raid the Manor. I took out the two of them that tried to kill me, but by the time that I had taken care of them, by the time I made it up here, she was gone."_

 _"_ _No…" Her hand flew to her mouth at her husband's words and both versions of Minerva choked back a sob. She remembered all too well what had happened next. "How could you let them take her? She is just a baby! She had nothing to do with any of this!"_

 _The memory Tom stood up and the other one held on a little tighter to his wife. The one in the memory spoke. "Minnie, please. I didn't let them take her. I fought them; I was doing the best that I could. I was here alone, and I didn't think that they knew she was even here. I didn't know that they knew about her at all!"_

 _He reached a hand towards her, but Minerva stepped back. "No. No one knows about her. No one knows about us Tom! How could anyone know about our little girl, that we love so much, and that has been stolen away? They couldn't because you won't let them! You won't let anyone see me! You insist that I stay in the Light, that I'm safe there, it turns out I'm not safe anywhere. And neither is Vayda." She turned and fled down the stairs, her husband on her heels._

 _"_ _Where are you going?"_

 _"_ _Away from you. I can't look at you anymore right now Tom. In fact right now I never want to see you again!" She slammed the front door shut behind her. Leaving a heartbroken man in her wake._

* * *

They were pulled out of the memory and Minerva was still crying. Tom let go of her and stepped back. Knowing that until she asked for his touch, it wasn't welcome. "I looked for her you know? I looked for her everyday until that night."

"I know." She smiled at him. "I looked for her too, but Albus did a very good job of hiding her. Who knows where he sent her? I just hope that wherever she is she's safe."

He looked across at her, "If she's anything like her mother she's a fighter. She'll keep herself safe."

She smiled and stepped back towards him. Inviting his touch once again. "Can you forgive me?" Her eyes were pleading with him, "For running away that night."

"Minnie, I asked you earlier why you came back, and you said that you chose to come home. Did you mean that?" She nodded and he continued. "If you can forgive me for that night, for not being strong enough to save our daughter, and come home to me. Then I have nothing to forgive you for. You were a mother and you were heartbroken, I'm just glad you have stayed safe all of these years, and I'm pleased you are here beside me again now."

She smiled a sad and teary smile up at him, "There's no place else that I'd rather be." She took his hand in hers once again and pulled him with her as she backed across the room towards their bed.


	5. Chapter 5-Who Do You Think You Are?

**Hey Lovelies! I am having a really good time writing this story, and even though it is so different, I can't help but love it! I hope that you enjoy it too! Happy Reading!**

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Chapter 5 – Who Do You Think You Are?

Minerva stood on the balcony overlooking the main entrance to the house the next morning. She shifted silently to the side when the other Lady of the Manor joined her. "You asked for me My Lady?"

"Narcissa, when it is just the two of us I believe Minerva is appropriate."

"Of course." The blonde smiled over at the older woman. "What is it that you wished to see me about?"

"I wish to speak to you about your sister."

"Oh?" Her voice was composed, but Narcissa wasn't sure that she liked where this conversation was heading. "What about my sister?"

"Her constant presence around my husband hasn't gone unnoticed by me since his return. I have not had a good reason to come back and not look like I was undeniably betraying the Light for so long. I had a reason to come back now. Is there any merit to what the rumors say about her being in love with Tom?"

Narcissa refused to meet Minerva's eyes, but she did answer her. "I'm afraid there is. She fancies herself in love with him, though she barely even glances at her own husband. Our Lord doesn't so much as give her a second thought in that regard though."

"You are telling me that you wish me to believe that my husband has slept with no one except me since his return?"

"Minerva you and I both know that last night was not the first time that you have seen each other since his return. It was just the first time that you could do so openly, and the first time that you could stay."

The older witch tried her best not to smile at Narcissa's words. "How many people know that?"

"Only myself My Lady, there is one elf that knows, Libby, she found a pair of your undergarments under his bed after the last time that you were here. When you had to leave in a rush so you didn't get caught."

Minerva turned slightly pink, she remembered that night. She had snuck into the Manor after nearly everyone else had been asleep. Narcissa had keyed her into the wards for the night and Tom had been expecting her. The Order had decided to try and raid the Manor that night and Tom had whisked her away half dressed so that she wasn't found there. It wasn't until she was safely in the castle that she realized she was without any underthings.

"I remember." She smiled at her friend. "You mailed them to me with a note telling me not to open the package at the staff table."

"I was afraid you would be rather embarrassed to have the Lady Malfoy mailing you your undergarments, and opening them at breakfast."

"You would have been right." She chuckled at the thought of what Albus would have said about it, but the thought of Albus darkened her mind and she turned back to Narcissa with a much grimmer outlook. Bellatrix was a problem that she could solve, whereas Vayda just caused her heart to ache. "Back to Bellatrix, I wish to speak with her. I think that it is time I claimed what is rightfully mine."

"Of course. She is actually in the dining hall right now with Lucius and Tom. Would you care to join them, or would you like me to bring her to you?"

"If you wouldn't mind I'd like to speak with her here."

Narcissa nodded and stepped back from the railing, fleeing down the steps to locate her elder sister.

Minerva felt him behind her even before he spoke. "What are you doing my dear?"

"Taking care of something that I should have been allowed to take care of years ago." She turned to look at him, the darkness clouding her features in a way that he hadn't seen in years. She hadn't looked this dangerous since the night that she had left him the first time. Her hair was loose behind her, black curls falling around her shoulders, and her silver and emerald dress made her look like a queen as she stepped away from the railing.

"Minerva, you have to know that I never…"

"I know." She cut him off with a dark smile. "That doesn't mean that I don't have something that I need to say." The sound of footsteps on the stairs caused them to both turn in that direction.

"Be nice." He whispered in her ear as the sisters donned the top step. She could hear the grin in his voice as well.

"I'm always nice." She shot back over her shoulder at him just as he disappeared into the shadows. She turned her smile on the sisters, who were so different in everyway, and nodded. "Narcissa, thank you, you may go and enjoy your own breakfast." The dismissal was smooth and eloquent, but a dismissal nonetheless and the blonde disappeared back down the stairs.

When they had watched her walk away Bellatrix's dark eyes moved slowly back around to look at the woman that was standing in front of her. She had to admit that Minerva looked the part.

"Good morning Mrs. Lestrange." She smiled at the other woman and Bellatrix grimaced. "Is there something else that you prefer to be addressed as?"

"Bellatrix is fine. Ma'am." She added as an afterthought.

"Okay then, good morning Bellatrix."

"Good morning, Ma'am." At least so far the younger witch seemed to have remembered her proper manners.

"Do you know why your sister collected you for me?"

"Yes." The younger woman sneered at her former teacher, some of her manners slipping as the older woman began to subtly put her in her place. "And I am not to be fetched like some dog, or plaything. You should have more respect."

A bemused expression crossed Minerva's face. "I should have more respect? Just who do you think you are Bellatrix?" She kept her tone light, but she knew that she was more than a match for the dark haired Black sister.

"I am his most trusted and faithful servant! I am his most loyal follower! Who do you think you are? Coming waltzing in here like you own the place and he gives you a seat by his side? He calls you an equal? Just what makes you his equal McGonagall?" She spat the words at her former teacher, but the older witch didn't so much as flinch.

"Who am I?" She chuckled darkly, "Madame Lestrange, let me tell you a little story. Years ago, years before you were even born there was another young woman, with dark hair and wide eyes that followed your Master almost as blindly. The difference was that not only was she in love with him, he returned her love." She smiled, "Who am I, you ask, what makes me his equal? I am his wife."

She let her words sink in for the other witch before she continued. "So I ask you again Bellatrix," her voice was growing darker with every word and though she hadn't moved her presence seemed to be filling the space around the younger woman, "who do you think you are?"

Her final words were palpable, and unconsciously Bellatrix took a step back. Quickly she regained her sense of superiority, "His wife? I don't think so; he would never marry someone like you. Someone so associated with the good, with the Light, someone so noble." She seemed to be trying to make excuses to herself, when in reality it all made sense. All of his rejections, every time he seemed to brush off her advances as if he had never even seen them. "He would never have married you, you're too weak."

"Too weak?" Minerva pulled her wand out of her sleeve and trained it on Bellatrix. "What ever has caused you to believe that I am weak Bellatrix?" Her dark smile was playing on her lips and in her eyes as she watched the younger woman fumble. "Would you like to see for yourself how strong I really am?" She twitched her wand towards the other woman, but a voice stopped her.

"I said be nice Minerva." She turned over her shoulder to see Tom come walking back out of the shadows that he had disappeared into. "This isn't very nice."

"I didn't do anything to her." She shook her head and rolled her eyes as she turned her back on Bellatrix to face her husband. "We were simply talking."

"That's what you call talking?"

She shrugged, "It seems when I'm around you my definitions of certain words have a habit of changing." She smirked, "I wouldn't do that if I were you Bellatrix, whatever curse you try and hurt me with will only backfire on you."

The younger woman froze mid-step her wand held out in front of her. There was no way that Minerva had seen what she was about to do. Minerva spun casually around in front of her husband to face her former student. "You forget my dear, I am a teacher, and a cat. I can hear you misbehaving behind my back."

She stepped forward towards the woman and made her way towards the stairs. When she reached Bellatrix's side she whispered darkly, "You have been warned, and I will not give a second warning. Stay away from my husband, and don't you dare try anything on me. You might be his most loyal follower Madame Lestrange, but I am his wife, and he knows all about my loyalties…"


	6. Chapter 6-Trust Me

**Hey Lovelies! So I went back and forth with this chapter. The memory in the middle could have been one of two things, this, or the night that Minerva first told him that she was pregnant with Vayda. For now you get this, and for those of you that have asked I promise that I will include the other eventually, I really do love Vayda! Someone also asked me if Minerva was Light or Dark, and my answer is simply, what would the fun be in telling you that? Enjoy!**

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Chapter 6 – Trust Me

They sat in front of the fireplace in their rooms, simply relaxed in each other's company. He was fiddling with his wand and she was attempting to read a book that she had selected from the Manor's extensive library. After a long moment she sighed and looked up from her book. Shutting it softly on her thumb. "I have to go back soon."

"I'm sorry?" He looked up at her, the fire dancing in her eyes when he peered into them. "Go back where?"

She chuckled, "You said it yourself when I first arrived here, I am supposed to be leading the Light to destroy you. I have to go back to them. I have to play both parts. I will always be your wife, but I am their leader, and I have to lead them."

"Against me?" He smirked at her.

"More like parallel to you." She looked at him. "I can't just come back to you and abandon them completely, how would that look? They would never trust me once school starts again. They have to trust me," she looked imploringly at him, "you have to trust me."

After a moment he nodded, "You're right. As most often you are. You have to go back to them. You have to lead them, but you're not going alone."

"I have to go alone." She argued back, "They aren't going to hurt me, right after Harry I'm their go to guy. They are going to trust me when I tell them that you are planning on lying low and only murdering a few hundred thousand more people before Christmas."

"Minnie…" He groaned, "You know I have no plans to kill anyone. Even killing the muggleborns was not my idea."

"I know. That woman really is a terrible influence on you." She smirked at him. "I'm going alone Tom. And I'm going in the morning." She reached across the space between their chairs and put her hand on his knee. "Do you trust me?"

He smiled at the memory of the first time he had ever asked her that same question. "Yes."

* * *

 _They had been sneaking off to see each other in private for a few months. Ever since the thunderstorm that had first brought them together they had been meeting in the Room of Requirement, just getting to know one another. A pure friendship had sprung up between them, innocent and fun, they both carried on with their normal lives outside of that room, but inside, they were becoming the best of friends._

 _Tonight when Tom arrived the inside of the room looked different than it ever had before. Instead of the casual sitting room that he had grown accustomed to, there was a grand fireplace, soft carpets filled the room and there were large pillows strung about the floor. The fire was the only light in the room._

 _"Minnie…" He had a pretty good idea why the room had changed tonight. Like so many other aspects of their lives, their relationship was changing. She was his best friend, but it seemed as though they were ready to try something more._

 _"Yes?" Her voice came from his left and he turned to look at her. For a moment not entirely registering what he was seeing._

 _"Wow." He drank her in with his eyes as she spun in a slow circle as she advanced towards him. Her normal school robes had been replaced with an emerald dress that accentuated her every aspect wonderfully._

 _"You like it?" She smiled shyly at him as he stepped forward and opened his arms to her._

 _"Of course. And it's draped around you, which only makes it that much more beautiful." He looked deep into her eyes the green of them only made brighter by the dress she wore she really was beautiful._

 _She tipped her chin up so that her lips were almost brushing his. They had shared kisses in the past, but nothing like what she was anticipating for that night. "Charming words just fall off of that silver tongue don't they?" She whispered._

 _"For you, always." He smiled down at her as he bent and swept her easily up into his arms. Carrying her to the place she had made for them in front of the fire. He lowered her down gently among the pillows. "You're beautiful."_

 _"You're not bad yourself Riddle." She teased him from her spot on the floor. He sat down beside her and she twisted so that her legs fell across his lap. Her fingers trailed slowly through his dark hair before she rested her hand on his cheek. "Quite the catch in fact." Suddenly she was feeling terribly self-conscious, "You could have any girl in this school Tom. So why me?"_

 _He gently lifted her legs from his and turned them both so that he was on his knees hovering over her. "Because you are the only girl in this school that I would even consider." He kissed her hard and when they pulled away there was a new sense of desire on both of their faces._

 _His hand was teasing the bottom edge of her skirt up her thigh as her fingers made quick work of the buttons of his shirt. They locked eyes once more and he was completely serious. "Do you trust me?"_

 _She didn't even hesitate, she leaned up and pressed her lips to his, when she pulled back she smiled. "Yes."_

* * *

The next morning Minerva knocked on the back door of The Burrow just as the sun was coming up. She was wearing a much more modest dress, still black, and tight but not nearly as Dark as the ones from the previous few days. When Molly opened the door she was shocked. "Minerva! Come in, come in, we weren't expecting you to come back." She ushered the dark-haired witch inside with a smile.

"I know. But I had to come back and check in on things here. How are things going, what more have you found out?"

"Not much." Lupin came into the room, followed by Tonks and Harry. "Anything that you can tell us will be helpful."

"Of course." Minerva nodded. "He's planning a few raids of some of our people. Diggle and Hestia need to be on alert he knows that they are the ones that took Harry's family away. He doesn't seem to know about the wedding, but I think you need to be prepared just in case." She looked over at Harry. "No one can know that you are there."

"I understand Professor, we have a plan for that."

"Good." She nodded and kept going. "I haven't sat in on any of their meetings yet, I've only been there the one week and there were some other things I had to take care of," momentarily her thoughts drifted to the morning on the balcony with Bellatrix and she had to contain her smile. "These are all just the things he has been telling me about."

She took a deep breath, "I will be returning to the school in the fall, but not alone. It seems as if Severus will be the Headmaster and I will remain the deputy. There will also be two other members of the staff that will be Death Eaters, the Carrow siblings will be joining us."

"You're serious?" Tonks spoke up from next to Remus.

Minerva nodded, "I'm afraid so. It seems my husband believes we need some tighter guidelines on how our children are taught. I can't say I disagree with him there."

"I beg your pardon?" Hermione's voice echoed from the stairwell. "Did you just say that you agree with him?"

Minerva smiled warmly at the girl. "Yes Ms. Granger. I did. I agree that the way that Albus ran the school wasn't in the best possible interest of the students, and I agree that there are measures that we can take to, overall, provide a proper education for you all."

"You mean a more Dark education. A more pureblood education." Ron appeared over Hermione's shoulder.

"No, I mean you all were not properly prepared for the real world while you were in school thus far. This year I think we can rectify that." She took in their worried gazes. "You don't trust me because I said I agreed with him. How can you of all people Hermione not see the benefits of a better education? A more proper one?"

Hermione stared at Minerva for a long moment and then she consented. "I can see your point, but why are you allowing Snape to be Headmaster? Shouldn't you take that place? Wouldn't we have more control over what was happening in the school then?"

"You would think so, but the Head position is just that, a figurehead. I will have better luck helping the students, and the Order, if I remain a teacher as my husband wishes. I don't believe he has thought that all the way through. I have more direct contact with the students this way. And sometimes it is direct contact that can be the most advantageous."

"I understand." Hermione finally smiled at her mentor. "It's good to see you Professor. After living in that Manor for a week, I'm surprised to see that you look so well."

"There are some benefits about being married to him Hermione. They never question him, and therefore my word is as good as his is in that house. Trust me, I am perfectly fine there." She smiled around at them all. "He thinks that I went for a walk, I really must get back before he notices how long I've been gone."

She stood from the table, "Molly, thank you for the coffee. I'll see you soon I hope." They nodded their goodbyes to her as she left as quickly as she had come, crossing the wards and disappearing back to Malfoy Manor.


	7. Chapter 7-How Far

**Hey Lovelies! It was a crazy midterm week followed by a wedding weekend! But my cousin is now a married woman! Woohoo! Anyway here is the next chapter of "Light's Dark Mistress" I hope that you all have some good things to say, I know where this story is headed but I want to know what you guys think! Who's side is she really on?**

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Chapter 7 – How Far

"Well, well, well, what have we here?" The cold voice reached her just as she reentered the grounds. "Where have you been My Lady?"

Minerva looked across the low wall to see Severus making his way towards her through the garden. "Headmaster." She smiled at him and took his arm as he offered to escort her back to the house. "I have been away dealing with business."

He looked over at her, "Business hmm? Does Our Lord know about this business?"

"What do you think?" She raised an eyebrow at him as the grand doors opened themselves before him.

He took her hand from his arm and bent over it, pressing his lips to the back before letting go entirely. He bowed once to her as he backed out of the door they had just passed through. "With you Minerva, anything's possible."

There was a dangerous glint in his eye and she knew that a warning flashed through her own before the doors shut between them. She heard footsteps coming from her right and she turned towards the dining room, "You have returned."

"I told you I was coming back." She smiled at him as she crossed the floor. He had his wand trained on her and with every step she took towards him more of her dress changed. He didn't like the matronly, schoolteacher dress that she had worn on her errand; instead he preferred the style that she wore especially for him.

"You did." He conceded, "But I've watched you leave me too many times before to ever really hope that you will come back. Every time you walk out of those doors I remember not going after you, not chasing you through that down pour the night that he took Vayda, and I remember not following you through the flames before the first war had even begun."

* * *

 _"_ _Tom!" She followed him out of their bedroom and down the hall to the staircase. "Tom, listen to me!"_

 _"_ _What Minnie?" He spun around to face her, his piercing blue eyes locked on her emerald ones. "What can you possibly say this time that you haven't said before?"_

 _"_ _Nothing," she was fighting back the tears that were stinging her eyes, "I can't say anything, but I can leave." He jerked back slightly at her words. "I can leave and I can choose to not come back. To never come back."_

 _"_ _Minnie…" His eyes softened but he didn't move from his spot across the hall._

 _"_ _No Tom! You're giving up, and I'm right here!" She choked back a sob as her voice raised. "I'm right here Tom, talk to me! Let me in! You can't do it, you just throw your damn walls back up every time!" She took a step towards him and reached out her hand, "I want to make this work, I want to be your wife, be with you so much that it physically hurts, but I can't. I can't keep living this way, giving you so much and getting nothing in return."_

 _She let her hand fall through the empty space between them, "I'm walking away Tom, and it's up to you to say how far I get."_

 _She took a step backwards down the hall and he started to follow her but she held up her hand. "I'm not changing my mind, not until you decide what it is you want out of all of this." He stopped moving towards her and some of her resolve cracked. "Do you even care?"_

 _"_ _What?" He looked at her with wide eyes, "Of course I care about you! I love you!"_

 _"_ _I know that." The sadness in her voice almost broke his heart, but she had stopped him from approaching her. "But do you even care if I stay or leave?"_

 _He started to answer her but she shook her head. "Don't. Whatever you think you're going to say, just don't."_

 _She turned and headed back into their bedroom slamming the door behind her and he took a deep breath. After a full minute of standing in the hallway staring at the door his wife had disappeared through he moved. He pushed the door open and found her sitting in one of the armchairs by the fire, her packed bag next to her feet._

 _She looked up when she heard the door open. "It's up to you. How far am I going to get before you realize that I'm actually leaving Tom? Out of this chair? Just across the room? Halfway down the block? Hell, halfway to the moon?"_

 _She stood up and grabbed the silver powder case off of the edge of the mantle, "I meant what I said earlier, I do want to make this work, I love you, and that will never change, but I can't keep doing this. I can't keep living like this. I won't take second seat Tom, I should be more important to you than that. So I'm walking away, but it's up to you to say how far." She threw the powder into the flames and in a whoosh of green she was gone._

* * *

He stepped forward and touched her cheek lightly with his fingertips. "I've never forgiven myself for letting you go. For letting you run away and go to him, for making you think you needed to join them."

"Hey, I'm here now." She turned her head and pressed her lips to his palm. "And I'm not planning on running away this time."

"No," he smiled at her "you are most certainly not running away to join the Light. This time you are the one leading it." His words weren't cruel and they weren't harsh, but they were cold and they cut like a knife.

"What would you have me do then Tom? Abandon them completely and loose all of my ties and connections to them?" She snapped out. Minerva was the only person that could stand a chance at arguing with the Dark Lord and not coming out the loser.

"Yes." He shot back. She took an involuntary step backwards at his answer, but she braced herself for the fight.

"Well too bad. I am not giving up every relationship that I have made with those people all of the alliances and ties that I have within the Light just so you can feel better about me walking through the doors every week!" She was yelling by now, and though he hadn't stepped away from her, he sure as hell wasn't interrupting her.

"You have brought this pain on yourself Tom! You are the only thing that stopped you from coming after me both of those times. You knew where I went! You knew I went to Alastor the first time, you knew that he sent me to Albus for protection. Protection from you I might remind you! And you knew I went to Hogwarts the second time. You knew and you let me go back there, you let me go back to the man that stole my daughter from me!"

"I didn't know that he had taken her then! I had no idea where she had gone and I was just as heartbroken as you were! Yes I should have gone after you, yes I should have begged you to come home, I should have done better, but I didn't!"

"No you didn't! I have been married to you for fifty years Tom and I am not about to start taking orders from you now! I listened to you once in my life and that was the time that you told me to go back to Hogwarts, to go back to hiding behind Albus, that no one could hurt me there. I went because I was pregnant; I went, because I thought that was what was best for our daughter! It turns out neither one of us were safe wherever we were, and that was all on you! So you will forgive me if I don't stop leading the Light in a charge against you. Or what they think is a charge against you!"

She took a breath and he cut off her next rant by kissing her hard and locking his arms around her waist. She shoved against his chest and he only held on to her tighter. She glared at him, "What are you doing?"

"The same thing I should have done every other time that we should have had this fight. This is the fight that we should have had ever time that you wanted to leave. I should have held on to you, and done everything that I could to get you to stay. This is it Minnie." He looked her square in the eye and pulled her back to him, "This is how far you get this time."

"Tom…"

"No." He looked down at her, "I've made this mistake before, and I'm not letting walk away from me again. You're right all of this is my fault, but that doesn't change the fact that I don't want you involved in the Light, I want you here, by my side where you belong."

"I'm you're wife, and I love you with all my heart, but they are my army, just as your Death Eaters are yours. I will lead them, but it's not the army you're worried about is it?" She grinned knowingly at him.

"How do you know that?"

"I'm your wife, I know more about you than you would dare to dream."

"Oh really? Then what my dear am I worried about?"

"Three children the same age as our daughter. You're worried that somehow they are going to be the ones that end up stopping you." She smiled.

"Are they?"

"I don't know." She answered him honestly.

* * *

 **What do we think now? Who's side is Minerva really on?**


	8. Chapter 8-Birthdays

**Hey Lovelies! So this is a shorter chapter, but it falls just where it needs too and we learn a little more about Vayda, not much, but a bit! This will be important for when we finally meet her! Anyway, the song that Minerva sings is a Scottish lullaby call "Ba Mo Leanabh" and if you've never heard it I suggest looking it up on YouTube, it is really very beautiful! As always enjoy and let me know what you think!**

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Chapter 8 – Birthdays

The days leading up to the wedding were some of the most stressful of Minerva's life. She knew that there were no circumstances under which she could attend, but that did nothing to prevent her from wishing that for just that one day she could truly be a part of the Light. She brushed the tears from her eyes as she heard the door open behind her.

"My Lady?" Narcissa's voice floated across the empty space towards her.

She planted a smile on her face and turned towards the other Lady of the Manor. "Yes my dear?"

"He asked me to come and tell you that supper was about to be served." She took a long look at Minerva and sighed. "Is there something wrong My Lady?"

"It's July 31st, it's Mr. Potter's seventeenth birthday. The wards that have protected him all of these years no longer exist." Narcissa didn't say a word, she just waited, knowing that Minerva wasn't finished speaking yet. "But it doesn't matter, he hasn't been there for weeks, no one has." She sighed and didn't look the other woman in the eye as she moved towards her. "It's July 31st."

Narcissa nodded and allowed the older woman to pass her on her way out the door. She knew that there was more to this than it being Potter's seventeenth birthday. Something else was eating at the other witch, something that she wasn't comfortable sharing with anyone. She shook her head and moved to catch up to her as they headed down the stairs, she would just have to keep an eye on her.

When they got to the dining room they parted, Minerva moved gracefully around the table and sank into the seat at her husband's right hand, Narcissa taking her place next to Lucius without a word. Her eyes never leaving the dark-haired witch that she had become concerned about.

The meal flew by in almost complete silence. Everyone knew what day it was, and no one wanted to push their comfortable existence by bringing up the boy at the dinner table. Narcissa watched from her place down the table as Minerva didn't eat much, and then quietly rose and disappeared from the room before anyone could say anything. She locked eyes with her master and he shook his head, in much the same fashion as his wife had done he rose and swept out of the room.

He found her in the library, her face buried in her hands as she wept. Gently he pushed the door shut behind him and crossed the room, gathering her into his arms without a word. He held her as she cried, and it wasn't until after she had stopped shaking in his arms and gone quiet that he pulled her away from his chest.

"Does crying help?" It could have been a patronizing question, cold and mocking, but that's not how it came across. It sounded as though he really wanted to know, like maybe he thought he could try.

"No." She looked up at him sadly, "Even after all of these years the tears can't wash away how I feel. Nothing will ever change this pain. She's a part of me, a part of us, and we lost her. We lost her and we don't know what became of her. She could be anywhere Tom, anyone, and we wouldn't know."

"You'll know." He took her chin in his fingers and tilted it up so that he could look in her eyes. "Someday you are going to see her again, you are going to look into some girl's eyes and just know."

She gave him a watery smile, "You don't believe a word of that. You're just trying to make me feel better."

"Yeah I am. I remember that night. The night she was born." He flexed the fingers of his right hand, "I was destroyed and then brought back and I still don't think that my hand is the same as it was before that night."

Her watery smile grew in strength, he did know how to make her feel better. "You try having a baby with no pain spells sometime and you can squeeze my hand, make it all fair." She shook her head at him before her face grew grim again. "It was worth it though. The year that we had her was one of the best years of my life."

She pulled a chain from around her neck and caught the locket in her hand. Springing it open another tear leaked from the corner of her eye. On one side there was a picture of her baby girl. Smiling and waving, icing matted through her dark curls, the other side was empty. It should have been filled with a picture from today, Vayda's seventeenth birthday.

He covered her hand with his own, shutting the locket over their baby. "Stop torturing yourself my dear. Staring at her picture is not going to bring her back. We have to keep going." With his remaining free hand he cupped her cheek in his palm, "I may not believe it, but you do, we will find her."

She turned her head and pressed her lips to his palm. When she pulled away he noticed that the tears in her eyes had dried. "Thank you." She whispered.

"Of course." He pulled her close to him again and they stood together in the silence, both mourning the loss of their daughter on her birthday.

Minutes went by and the hushed tones of her voice broke through his thoughts. She had started to sing, _"O ba ba mo leanabh, ba mo leanabh, ba. O ba ba mo leanabh, Ni mo leanabhs' an ba ba…"_

Without conscious thought he started to sway and they danced in a slow circle as she continued to sing. The normal sweetness of her singing voice heavy with her unshed tears. The lullaby wound its way around them in the silence of the room. _"Ged tha mi gun chaoraich agam, 'S caoraich uil' aig càch, Ged tha mi gun chaoraich agam, Dèan a leanabh an ba ba…"_

He had no idea what the words were, but he knew that song. It was the one that she had sung to Vayda since the day that she was born. A Scottish lullaby that had always put their daughter to sleep, even on her most unruly nights. It was no surprise that they both found comfort in it now. It was days like today, birthdays, which were always the hardest.

Neither one of them noticed when the door shut the rest of the way to the library. Narcissa had followed him up the stairs, intent on making sure that Minerva was okay. There were tears streaming down her cheeks as she leaned heavily on the door now. They had lost a child. From what she had gathered the girl was alive, but they had lost her nonetheless, and today was her birthday.

She made her way down the hall to her own bedroom and cried silently into her pillow. They had both faced this day with more strength than she thought that she possessed in her entire being. If that had been Draco…the thought made even more tears wash down her cheeks. At the thought of losing her child the Lady Malfoy had finally cracked, as down the hall Minerva concluded her song.

 _"_ _O ba ba mo leanabh, ba mo leanabh, ba. O ba ba mo leanabh, Ni mo leanabhs' an ba ba…"_ She lifted her locket back in her hand and laid her head on Tom's chest. Pressing the golden heart to her lips she whispered softly, "Happy Birthday baby girl."


	9. Chapter 9-Death and Other Unpleasant

**Hey Lovelies! So here is the next chapter of Light's Dark Mistress. I apologize from the get go, but even if things have changed drastically from the original some things that happened have to come into play... I can't bring myself to tell you to enjoy, or happy reading, that's just cruel, so how about we go with, "Happiness can be found in the Darkest of times..."**

* * *

Chapter 9 – Death and Other Unpleasant Things

"He's really dead?" She couldn't help the emotion in her voice. She had known the man longer than she had known her husband. Losing him wasn't easy on her, and no one, Light or Dark had expected it to be.

"Yes." Remus nodded to her from across the room. "Mad-Eye was the only casualty, though I'm afraid…" He stopped talking when he realized that she was crying, but she looked up at him expectantly.

"Afraid of what Remus?" She was fighting for control over her emotions, and slowly she was winning. Being married to the Darkness had made her terribly resilient. When the younger man looked down at his shoes and refused to answer her she stood up from the table. All eyes immediately focusing on her. "Afraid of what?"

Her tone implied there would be no refusing her an answer. She looked around the room, her eyes focusing on all of the faces there, and she realized something that she hadn't processed before. She spun around to face Kingsley Shacklebolt, who had been standing right behind her chair. "Where are they?"

Her green eyes glinted in the firelight and there was no doubt in that moment who among them possessed the most power. Some would even have claimed that in that moment she truly succeed Albus Dumbledore. The magic flowing out of her, in her anger, proved then and there she was the most powerful witch in all of Britain.

The Auror took a small step back from her as he was faced with her wrath. "I'm afraid we don't have a location on them ma'am."

She laughed but there was no humor in it. It was cold, dark, and not at all a comforting sound to those gathered around her. "You don't have a location on them." She shook her head before locking eyes with the man in front of her. Her voice was just as cold as her laughter had been, "You had one job. I gave you one assignment and you lost them!"

She didn't yell, but it may have been easier if she would have. "I am returning to Hogwarts in two weeks. I will meet with you all once more before I go back to the castle. If you have not located them by the time I see you again, I am going to be far more than just disappointed. Have I made myself clear?"

"Yes Ma'am." Kingsley nodded to her and there were murmurs of consent from around the room. She graced them all with one more sweeping glance around the room before she swept from the room and out the door. When they heard the door shut behind her Kingsley took a deep breath. "We have less than two weeks."

Arthur looked up from where he and Molly had been having a silent conversation. "What do you mean?"

"We have less than two weeks to find them. We don't have to have them back here, I doubt she expects them to show up at the school, but we do have to find them. If we don't, I don't want to see what more than disappointed equates to…"

* * *

She burst through the front door of the Manor looking every bit like the flesh and blood reality of the Goddess of wisdom and war. Her long, dark hair flowing all around her, and her black and silver dress whipping around her in the breeze created by her own magic. Not only was she upset over the loss of her friend, she was furious at the fact that three teenagers had managed to slip away from them unnoticed.

Severus emerged from the dining room to her right, Narcissa right on his heels. "My Lady?" His voice drew her attention his direction. "Are you alright?"

"Do I look alright?" She shot out at him. The rational side of her brain knew that the three of them disappearing was in no way Severus's fault, but the other side of her brain simply didn't care. "Not only did you all manage to murder someone I considered a friend last night, all of you, both this army and the one at my command managed to let three incredibly vital teenagers disappear without a trace!"

Where she hadn't yelled at the Order before, she wasn't holding back here, and Severus and Narcissa were only bearing the very beginning of it. Minerva turned to the blonde, "Where is he?"

"Upstairs in the drawing room," Minerva swept away from them towards the stairs and Narcissa followed. "He's not alone My Lady, some of his most trusted,"

"I don't care." She cut her off and moved up the stairs with a sense of purpose that only seemed to make her anger more visible. She didn't bother to use the door handle instead flinging her magic at the doors. She stood framed in the doorway when every head in the room shot up to see who was intruding.

The look on her face held enough hostility that she didn't have to utter a single word. Every Death Eater present moved immediately for the door, knowing that they didn't want to be present for the argument that was about to occur. Even Lucius and Bellatrix failed to hesitate in their departure.

When the door clicked shut behind them she finally spoke. "He's dead." The cold, icy tone she had used with the Order was back.

"I know, Lucius was just informing me. I didn't,"

"I know." She cut him off. "I know, that doesn't make it any easier though."

"Minnie," he stepped towards her and she automatically took a step back.

"No. I don't ant you to comfort me right now. Tonight I get to be pissed. I get to yell and I get to cry and you don't get to feel better about being reason why."

"I didn't order,"

"I know!" She snapped. "Mad-Eye died in your raid. I don't give a damn if you gave the order or not. He was my oldest friend, and you know that, so don't even go there. Besides us he was one of two people on this planet that knew about Vayda, one of the only people we trusted with that secret. And he's gone. And tonight that gets to be your fault." She took a deep breath and he cut in before she could speak again.

"I'm sorry Minnie." She looked up at him, her body betraying her by letting tears gather in her eyes. "I know you don't want to hear that from me. I know that tonight you just want to hate me and that's okay. Tonight I deserve you hating me, but I am sorry. You're right, I did know he was your friend, and I may not have ordered his death, but I didn't tell them not to kill him either."

She swallowed hard and nodded. "Thank you." The corners of her mouth twitched up in appreciation for his little speech. "This isn't only about Alastor, there's something else. I gave an order before I came back to you this summer, I assigned Kingsley Shacklebolt to keep an eye on the three of them."

"You did?"

"Yes." She sighed. "And it would seem that in the little stunt you and your men pulled last night they managed to slip away. They're gone, and as of an hour ago my Order has no idea where they are"

"They lost them?" His eyes went wide.

"It would seem so. But I'm not as worried about where they went, so much as why they disappeared."

"What do you mean?"

"I may be the brightest witch of our age Tom, but she's the brightest witch of theirs, and I have a feeling they didn't just decide to go on holiday. They're looking for some thing. And if my count is still accurate they are looking for four some things."

* * *

They arrived on the top step of Grimmauld and they slipped quietly through the door. After getting passed the obstacles that had been set up in the hallway the trio settled in the kitchen.

"What do we do now?" Ron looked at Harry, but Harry was looking at Hermione.

The girl was digging around in the depths of her beaded bag for something. When she pulled her arm back out she was holding a rather old, rather nasty book. She smiled as she set it on the table. "Now we find out just what we're looking for."


	10. Chapter 10-Secrets and Lies

**Hey Lovelies! So this is the next chapter of Light's Dark Mistress, and I have to admit this one is slow, and kind of a filler, but we can't totally disregard the threat Minnie made last chapter can we! Either way, Enjoy!**

* * *

Chapter 10 – Secrets and Lies

Minerva was sitting next to her husband at his table. This was one of the few meetings that she had decided to sit in on since she had returned to his side. His immediate concerns were trivial, and she saw no need to send anything she was hearing here back to the Order.

She had only agreed to sit here tonight as a courtesy. There were other things on her mind, things that she deemed a more important use of her time. A knock on the drawing room door pulled her out of her thoughts. She looked up to see Peter Pettigrew looking slightly scared in the doorway. Tom appeared to not notice the interruption.

"Come here Peter." Her voice carried easily over the top of her husbands and he fell silent as the tiny, shaking man made his way towards his wife. He nodded in acknowledgement of the man when he came to a stop, and Minerva fixed him with a peering look. "What do you need Peter?"

"I'm sorry for the interruption My Lady." He turned to Tom. "My Lord." He bowed a little before facing her once more. "This has just arrived for you Ma'am. It says urgent." He held out a letter and she took it from him with a nod of dismissal. Quickly the rat-like man scurried out of the room closing the door behind him.

Minerva opened the note and was surprised to see that it contained only one line. _"It didn't take two weeks."_ She smiled softly to herself and then looked up at her husband. "If you would excuse me, there is someplace else that I need to be."

He understood her meaning, even if the rest of those around the table did not and he nodded to her. "Will you be returning?" He reached for her hand and kissed first her knuckles and then her diamond.

"Yes." She lowered her chin out of respect. "I'll be back tonight."

"Then I shall wait for you." With a smile Minerva stood and swept out of the room.

* * *

"You found them?" She had barely made it across the wards surrounding what was left of the Burrow before she asked the question.

"We did." Kingsley answered her with a nod. "No one has approached them, they don't know that we found them, but they went to Sirius's."

"They're in London?" Her eyebrows shot up. "I would have expected them to travel further than that."

"It seems as if what ever their task is they need to stay close." Arthur smiled a little bit when she turned to look at him. "Yes, we know that they are up to something, and I'm assuming that now that Dumbledore is gone you are the only one that knows what that is."

"I do." She nodded, "And you're right. They have their reasons for staying close. You were right not to make contact with them. Let them think that they are out on their own, but keep an eye on them if you can. Do not loose them again."

"Yes Ma'am." Kingsley and Remus nodded and Minerva relaxed a little bit.

"What else do you have to report?" They all began to fill her in on everything that had happened in the week since she had last been in contact with them.

* * *

Hermione was pouring through the book that she had pulled from the shelf in the library. She had read everything that she could on horcruxes, she knew the prophecy word for word, but that wasn't getting them anywhere.

Harry was off somewhere in the house, probably sitting in Sirius's old room, and Ron was watching the Ministry. They were planning to break in, planning to steal the locket from Umbridge. That miserable woman just couldn't stay out of the way.

Hermione replaced the book she had been looking through to its shelf it wasn't holding her interest. She walked along the rows letting her hand trail over the spines until something like a shock raced from her fingers through her system.

She shook her hand out as the sensation rolled away and then she reached for the book. Pulling it off the shelf she was surprised to see that it was a genealogy of the Peverell family. An odd thing to have in the Black family library she thought as she settled back into her armchair.

As she began to read through it she understood more fully why it was there. Traced far enough back many of the pureblood families were somehow distantly related to the three Peverell brothers. What surprised her most was that for as old as the book appeared to be the family trees held within seemed to be up to date.

She traced her finger over the line that ended with Harry James Potter, born July 31st, 1980. She had just finished reading the story of the Tale of the Three Brothers and she was surprised to find that they were in fact real people. Harry's family descended from the youngest brother.

She traced her finger over the line from the middle brother. She was startled to see that the Gaunt's were a part of the Peverell line. She ran a finger over the name Tom Marvolo Riddle pausing when she reached the line that connected it to a name that was still hard for her to fathom, Minerva Isobel Riddle neé McGonagall. Her eyes fell closed for a moment as she took a deep breath, the woman she considered her mentor had lied. All of these years she had been lying to them, and a part of Hermione couldn't blame her for it.

When she reopened her eyes she had to look again. She had expected the line to stop there. For Tom Riddle to be the last name on that branch of the tree, but it wasn't. There, one step below Tom and Minerva was another name. Vayda Minerva Riddle, born July 31st, 1980. Hermione gasped. They had a child, and she shared Harry's birthday…

* * *

Minerva swept through their bedroom discarding her outer robes as she went. She could hear the water running the bathroom and she wanted to see him. She needed to see him after the afternoon that she had had.

The Order wanted to talk of nothing more than how they were going to stop him, how they were going to take down the Darkness. What they didn't see, what she couldn't tell them, was that they were focusing on the wrong thing. They didn't need to end her husband to end the war. She knew that he could be called upon to quit by words alone. Her words anyway.

No, it was his followers. The Death Eaters, the ones that had decided that they could do just as much if not more damage than their leader. It was those few, the ones that were starting to think for themselves that they needed to target. Madam Lestrange being at the top of the list.

She placed her hand between his shoulder blades as she stepped up behind him. He turned to look at her and smiled. "Well? How did your meeting go?"

"Fine." She smiled, "Nothing knew to report. You'd think that after a week they would have something to tell me."

He narrowed his eyes at her, "If they had nothing why did they summon you?"

"I have no idea. Believe me, it wasn't in their best interests." She smiled darkly at him, hiding her lie behind her bewitching, emerald eyes. "Though I think I do know what may be in yours."

"Oh?" His face relaxed and he gave her an easy smile. It was the kind of expression that he reserved solely for her. "And what might that be?"

"Come find out." She back slowly away from him, undoing her robes as she went.


	11. Chapter 11-Obliviate

**Hey Lovelies! Sorry for the wait, but I've been busy with real life, and my story "Maternal Instinct" has decided that it won't give my head much of a reprieve to work on anything else! Anyway this is here now and ready to go! Let me know what you think!**

* * *

Chapter 11 – Obliviate

There were tears in her eyes as she stood on the steps of the great castle. It was September 1st and her students were returning. She closed her eyes, and took a deep breath, pulling her tartan cloak a little closer around her body as she regained her composure. She has known that they wouldn't be returning, she had known exactly what three faces she wouldn't see step off the train, but that didn't mean that she hadn't held the slightest hope that maybe, just maybe they would change their minds.

That they would show up in front of her safe and smiling and ready to start the new school year. It was foolish, both Tom and her Order had assured her that they wouldn't be returning. Harry had told her himself at the beginning of the summer, but that didn't mean that it didn't hurt all the same.

She opened her eyes and threw her carefully calculated mask back in place just as she saw Hagrid leading the newest batch of first years up the path. "The firs' years Professor McGonagall."

"Thank you Hagrid." She gave him a small smile and she turned to lead the eleven year olds into the castle. They followed her without a word, and she couldn't help but give a little shake as she looked towards the Head Table.

There, sitting in the high backed chair just to the left of her empty one, was Severus. He was sitting in the place that Albus had occupied since the day that she joined the staff, and even though she knew there was a reason, that he was there for just the same reason that she was. Tom had sent them both back to Hogwarts, providing familiar faces along with the new ones.

Her eyes skimmed along the staff table as she moved to place the three-legged stool before the rest of the school. She missed the entirety of his foreboding song as she studied her colleagues. There were few among them, Snape, the Carrows and Poppy in all that knew of her position at Tom's side.

Everyone else saw nothing different in their Deputy Headmistress. They failed to see the worry in her eyes; if she was here they assumed that they were all safe. Little did they know that they were in more danger when she was among them. She could do less to control her husband when she was away from him.

As she took her seat at the Head table Severus leaned over and whispered in her ear. "I can see your worrying Minerva. Stop. You cannot let anyone who does not already know find out the truth. You are here because Our Lord thinks it is the best place for you. You must do everything that he expects of you, if not…"

"I know that Severus!" Even her whisper was sharp. "I am here because it is my place now, though I truly believe that I would do more with him than I can do here."

"I agree but if he finds out that you doubt him…"

"He won't." She looked over at him. "One thing about my husband, he knows better than to try and spend too much time in my head. Too many memories." She gave him a small smile and her gaze shifted out over the Gryffindor table as she slipped into a very familiar memory.

* * *

 _She was humming to herself as she moved through the hallway. She was looking for him and she ducked her head into every room as she went. It was a Saturday afternoon and she had snuck away from Hogwarts to come and see him. He had sent her back to Dumbledore at the beginning of the school year, saying that she would be safe there. That Dumbledore could not question her again, that she must go back to teaching._

 _Reluctantly she had agreed. Albus had no idea who it was that she was married to, he only knew that she had come to Hogwarts on Mad-Eye's request to get away from him after an incident that she had never spoken about. He hadn't pushed her and she preferred it that way, it made it much easier for her to slip away on days like today._

 _Finally, after going through many of the rooms in the house she sighed and called out, "Tom!"_

 _"_ _In here!" His voice sounded from the direction of the kitchen and she chuckled as she made her way that way. When she pushed open the door the chuckle sounding from her throat turned into full on laughter._

 _"_ _What on earth are you doing in here?" There was flour all over the kitchen and all over Tom. She moved towards him and used the hem of her sleeve to wipe the flour from his cheek. "Are you baking?"_

 _"_ _I was trying too." He rolled his eyes. "It turns out that I'm useless at it."_

 _"_ _Why on earth didn't you just use magic?"_

 _"_ _I was trying to surprise you."_

 _"_ _By destroying my kitchen?" She raised an eyebrow at him. "You thought that you would surprise me by destroying my kitchen?"_

 _"_ _No." He wrapped his arms around her waist. "I thought that you weren't coming until dinner. I had plenty of time to clean it up."_

 _"_ _Well I came early." She kissed his cheek where she had wiped the flour away. "I have a surprise for you as well."_

 _"_ _Oh?" He grinned at her, "What's that?"_

 _She leaned in and whispered in his ear. One corner of her mouth turned up as he pulled away from her suddenly and stared at her. "Are you sure?"_

 _"_ _Yes. I had Poppy run the test," She laughed at his panicked expression, "Don't worry, she had no idea that it's yours. She was rather put out when I wouldn't tell her who the father was, though I think she suspects Albus." His lips turned up in a snarl, but she kissed it away. "You and I know better._ _ **Our**_ _baby will be here at the end of July."_

 _"_ _A baby…" He was shaking his head, but a smile was starting to grow on his lips. "We are having a baby…"_

 _"_ _Tom?" She caught his gaze with her own and his smile broke out across his face. He wrapped his arms around her and spun her in a tight circle._

 _"_ _Thank you Minnie. I didn't even know that I wanted a baby, but now, knowing that you are giving me one…" He trailed off and he came back to himself. He turned to her as reality came crashing down around him. "You have to go back to Hogwarts. You are safest there. No one will be able to hurt you there, no one will want too, and you will both be safe."_

 _"_ _Tom…"_

 _"_ _No." He took her chin gently in his hand, "Go back, hide the fact that you are pregnant and you can come here in the summer. No one knows of this place, you will be safe here." He kissed her gently, "Both of you."_

 _She didn't say a word, but she nodded. He was right; Hogwarts really was a safe place for everyone._

* * *

 _"_ Minerva?" Severus's voice called her back to the present. He was looking at her with curiosity. "Where did you go?"

"1979…." She didn't say anymore, as she took his arm and together they left the hall behind their students.

* * *

 _"_ _Tom…"_

 _"_ _Come on Minnie, you're almost there." He looked down at the healer, who simply nodded. "You can do it, one more and then you can hold our baby in your arms."_

 _She nodded through her pain, and she screamed as she clutched his hand in her own. His fingers were turning white from a lack of blood, but he knew better than to say anything._

 _"_ _One more Mrs. Riddle, and that will be it. Just the shoulders are left." She pushed one final time and relaxed as she felt the baby leave her body. The sound of a loud cry brought tears to her eyes as the healer handed Tom their baby._

 _"_ _She's beautiful Minnie…" He smiled as he laid their daughter on her chest. "Just like her mother."_

 _"_ _Hello beautiful…" She smiled down at the baby before she looked up at Tom. "Vayda. Her name is Vayda."_

 _"_ _Famous ruler…" Tom kissed the top of the baby's head and then pressed his lips to Minnie's forehead. "That's perfect. Vayda Minerva Riddle."_

 _"_ _Tom…"_

 _"_ _Look at her Minnie, she's you all over again, your name should be hers as well."_

 _The healer ran his wand over both Minerva and Vayda. "They both seem to be in perfect health Sir."_

 _"_ _Thank you." Tom nodded at the healer and looked at Minerva, as much as she hated it she nodded. Tom turned back to the healer and raised his wand. "Obliviate."_


	12. Chapter 12-An Urgent Message

**There are no excuses as to why it has been almost a month since I've updated anything, and I apologize. This chapter is relatively short, but it skips right over a lot of things. I want to stress that everything that happened in the books during the year that they were on the run is exactly what happened here. Right up until the point we meet our Golden Trio. After that, well you shall see how everything will change... I'm sooo sorry this took so long, I hope to have this finished by Christmas!**

* * *

Chapter 12 – An Urgent Message

The months dragged on in Hogwarts. There was a restless discontent among the students, and even among the staff. No one was too pleased with Severus being instilled as Headmaster, and a few, Hooch and Madam Pomfrey to be precise, were none too quiet about informing Minerva of their opinions on the subject.

She had done her best of assuage their worries, but she couldn't. As much as she didn't want to admit it, she thought that Severus was doing a perfect job. He was managing to keep the Carrow's in check, for the most part, and he was running the school as efficiently as ever. She was honestly surprised when they made it to Christmas without any serious incidents, and she found herself looking forward to returning to the Manor.

She knew that Severus was planning something for the moment that she left and she was grateful. If she wasn't in the castle when he carried out his plan then she had deniability when it came to both her husband and the Order. Never before had she been grateful for the lapse of responsibility on her part, but with this situation she was. She was torn. The man she loved on one hand, and the fate of the world on the other.

Christmas at the Manor was a quiet affair, but between herself and Narcissa they had managed to at least bring some sense of the holiday spirit. Draco had been pale and nervous, Lucius and Severus both looked like they were on the brink of exhaustion and Bellatrix, well Bellatrix was Bellatrix, there would be no changing that.

She found herself back in the castle before she knew it and things were once again changed. Students were disappearing, or they were showing up with injuries that they were severely lacking in explanations for. Teachers were quieter; no one spoke out about anything that wasn't directly related to them. The entire atmosphere had changed.

The melancholy mood lasted through the end of the winter and into the early spring. She was sitting in her office debating about whether or not Tom was going to call her back to the Manor for the Easter holidays or if she would be staying at the school. Her answer came the Friday before the holiday weekend, in the form of a sleek silver p panther darting into her office.

The patronus sat back on its hind legs and fixed her with a piercing look that she knew all too well. When it opened its mouth the cool, but frantic voice of Narcissa Malfoy came out. "Minerva, come quickly. The Dark Lord knows not, but they are here." The Deputy Headmistress sucked in a quick breath before turning to look at her door, making sure that no one else had seen.

After only a moment's pause she was moving. Her feet flew through the halls in the direction of the Headmaster's office and the only Floo Network in the castle that could get her to Malfoy Manor in time. Without pausing to knock she wrenched open the door and swept past the Headmaster as he sat at his desk. Grabbing a handful of the powder that was situated on the edge she threw it into the flames calling out, "Malfoy Manor."

Severus's eyes went wide when he heard her destination and he only just made it in time to hear her voice ring out through the main hall of the house. "Stop!" Minerva's tone left no room for argument and Bellatrix froze in her position, looming dangerously over Hermione.

Minerva couldn't tear her gaze away from the girl that was laid out on the floor in front of her. She could tell that she hadn't arrived in enough time to stop all of the abuse that they were going to put her through, but it didn't look as though any irreparable damage had been inflicted. Hermione was crying, tears streaming down her cheeks as she took in the sight of her Head of House commanding all of those in the room.

"Bellatrix, back off." Minerva's voice was low and dark, a tone that the girl had never heard her use before, but the other occupants of the room did. In that moment it was not Minerva McGonagall standing in front of them, right then she was the Lady Voldemort. Immediately, although not without a dark look thrown in Minerva's direction, Bellatrix took a step back from the girl.

When Bellatrix backed away Minerva caught her first glimpse of the girl's face and something inside of her wanted to reach out to the child. Hermione's brown eyes seemed to take on a light as the older witch crossed the room and lowered herself to the floor in front of her. Slowly, not caring who was there and watching, not caring who would go to fetch her husband, Minerva pulled the girl into her lap and started to sing.

 _"_ _O ba ba mo leanabh, ba mo leanabh, ba. O ba ba mo leanabh, Ni mo leanabhs' an ba ba…"_ Hermione closed her eyes for a moment and when she opened them she was crying a different kind of tear. She didn't know why, but that song reminded her of something, of someone. Her mother? She was confused, her mother wouldn't have sung to her in, was that, Scottish? The teen was confused and mentally shaken perhaps she was imagining things?

Minerva didn't know what to make of the girl crying in her lap. She was sure that Hermione had never heard the lullaby before, but she was reacting to it as if it brought back memories. Pulling her closer Minerva continued to sing. _"Ged tha mi gun chaoraich agam, 'S caoraich uil' aig càch, Ged tha mi gun chaoraich agam, Dèan a leanabh an ba ba…"_

It was from across the room that Narcissa was the one to make the final connection. The ages were close, the child she knew was incredibly intelligent, and from what Draco had told her she was stubborn as well. A small smile crossed her lips before she drew her wand and moved quietly and slowly towards the two witches on the floor.

She glared up at her older sister as she crouched down next to Minerva. "Bella, go get the Dark Lord. He is going to want to see them." Bellatrix had no idea what was going on, but that didn't stop her from doing what she was asked. She rolled up her sleeve and pressed her finger to her forearm at the same moment that Narcissa waved her wand over the two dark haired witched in front of them.


	13. Chapter 13-Welcome Home

**Hey Lovelies! So I have no excuses for how long updates are taking, I'm just running really behind this semester. Sorry about that! Anyhoo here is Chapter 13. I hope you all like it! Let me know! Enjoy!**

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Chapter 13 – Welcome Home

With the swish of Narcissa's wand Minerva's hair fell loose from it's bun, and her attire changed to that of the Lady Voldemort, but it wasn't the change in their matriarch that had all of the Death Eaters astonished, it was the change in the girl on her lap. Where before Hermione's hair had been bushy and brown, it now hung in perfect ebony curls, exactly like the woman in front of them, and when she looked up her honey colored eyes were now a clear blend of bright green and the deepest brown. The resemblance was unsettling.

There was a rush of cool air through the room and Minerva looked up to find her husband standing in front of her. "What is the meaning of this?" He had his back to the women on the floor; instead he was looking at the eldest Black sister. "What have you called me here for?" It was a cool question, vaguely laced with anger. He had demanded not to be disturbed.

"I asked her to call you My Lord." Narcissa spoke up from just behind his left shoulder. She was standing over the top of Minerva and Hermione, blocking the two Gryffindors with her own body. "I called for both of you in fact."

He turned to face her and he caught sight of his wife and the young woman sprawled on the floor. "Minnie?" His voice immediately changed, and when she didn't answer him he turned back to the Lady Malfoy. "What has happened here?"

Taking a deep breath Narcissa squared her shoulders and stood more solidly in front of the two, facing Voldemort with no fear in her eyes. "The girl was brought here with a group, and Bella took it upon herself to try and torture the truth out of the child." She looked down at Hermione, who herself looked so different than when she had first arrived. Narcissa could hear Minerva still singing quietly under her breath to the teenager, and she knew that she had been right. This was in fact the Dark Lord's daughter.

"Upon seeing the child I took a chance and called for Minerva. She arrived before any real damage could be done. Bella listened to her and Minerva, upon seeing the girl started singing and collected the child in her arms. I asked for you because I thought that you should be here for this moment as well."

Hermione's face was still buried in her Head of House's robes, and she had no idea what magic Narcissa had cast. She had no idea that her true appearance had once again been revealed, after just a couple years shy of two decades. She had no idea what the Lady Malfoy was talking about.

Voldemort's voice carried through the hall, which had gone silent, as the Lady Malfoy had begun to speak. "Why would I want to be here? Why is this child so important?"

At his question Minerva sat up, and she took in Hermione's appearance for the first time. A small smile broke through her tears and she lifted the girl's chin so that she would have to look her in the eyes. She saw eyes, so like her own looking back at her, framed by dark ringlets that matched hers as well. "You want to be here Tom, because Narcissa saw something that I had missed for the past seven years." She looked up at him and her tears only seemed to fall more steadily. "Will you forgive me?"

"Forgive you?" Tom was confused. "What do I need to forgive you for? You have done nothing wrong?"

"For never noticing that this young lady, is in fact our daughter." Hermione's eyes went wide as she looked at her Head of House, no, her mother. She seemed to freeze for a moment, before she turned her eyes on the man that had knelt down next to them. She had never seen him this close before, and she was surprised to see the kindness in his dark eyes. He looked almost handsome, with his dark hair and his sharp facial features, but that didn't mean that she could completely forget who he was.

She was stunned, there was no way that Minerva McGonagall could be her mother, and it seemed impossible that Tom Riddle was indeed her father. She couldn't seem to find her voice, and Tom began to speak before she had a chance. "Oh Minnie," he wrapped an arm around her shoulders and kissed her temple, "of course it's not your fault. I will only ever blame _him_." He felt Minerva nod under his lips and he turned to look at his daughter, "Welcome home Vayda."

Hermione had not heard anyone say the name out loud in seventeen years, but it felt, inside as if she had been hearing it all of her life. "Mum?" She turned her attention back to the woman whose lap she found herself upon before switching back to the man at her side, "Dad?"

Minerva still had not stopped crying since she had seen the girl on the floor, but now her tears turned to full on sobs. "Yes." She nodded and pulled the teen to her in an incredibly tight hug, Tom followed suit and wrapped both of his girl's in his arms.

While the little family was wrapped up in each other Narcissa took the opportunity to quietly call on the one being that she knew she needed. As soon as she had confirmed that the girl was who she had believed she knew whom the other two newest occupants of her dungeons were. With a small pop Kreacher appeared at her side and with a quiet whisper and a small pop she knew that should anyone enter the dungeons in that moment they would see all of the prisoners pop away. She had decided that if anyone ever asked she would claim that she had no idea what happened, but she hadn't figured on Minerva seeing what she had done.

When she turned back around green eyes connected with blue and the dark haired woman gave a subtle nod. She approved of the choice that the other Lady of the manor had made and she was grateful. Her daughter was not the only child that Narcissa had taken it upon herself to save.

Tom pulled back from the two women after a moment and he looked at his pale and shaking daughter, cowering in her mother's lap. "Vayda?" When Hermione looked up at him there were still tears in her eyes, but they were no longer falling down her cheeks. "Are you alright my dear?"

Hermione made to nod, but Minerva halted her movements. "Do not lie my dear. He will only find out anyway." She gave her daughter a smile, and looked around the room, her eyes falling first on Severus and then finally resting on Bellatrix. Her eyes didn't leave the dark woman as she spoke to her husband. "When I arrived I put a stop to the torture that she was inflicting on our daughter."

Tom shot up and followed her gaze towards Bellatrix. "Is that true?" His voice was cool, but there was no denying the anger that undercut his words. "Were you torturing my daughter?"

Bellatrix had never been one to show fear, but in that moment there was no denying that she was frightened. "I didn't know that she was your daughter My Lord. No one did." Her voice was almost pleading; there was no denying what was going to come next. Torturing their daughter would only lead to one result. "I'm so sorry My Lord."

Voldemort drew his wand on the woman, but Minerva's voice stopped him. "Stop Tom. What kind of first impression is torture?" He turned to see that both she and their daughter were once again on their feet, standing to either side just behind him. When he had turned Bellatrix had drawn her wand as well and it was trained on Hermione. Where Bellatrix was quick, Minerva was faster. "Not my daughter you bitch." Her wand flicked out and in a flash Bellatrix was gone. Not only dead, but entirely vanquished.

At the look on his wife's face Tom started to laugh. It started as a low chuckle, but soon it was a full-blown laugh. His wife had destroyed one of his most loyal followers and he was laughing. Minerva turned her fury on him, "What are you laughing at Tom?"

He composed himself and took in his daughter's shocked face as she studied her mother. "I was merely going to use torture as a first impression love. You managed to use murder."

Minerva's face fell and all of the color drained from it as she turned to look at her daughter, only to suddenly find her arms full of teenage girl. She was shocked, to say the least, by the girl's reaction. She had expected her to be appalled, to want nothing to do with her, and instead she received a quiet, "Thank you."

Minerva's arms found their way around the girl and she held her tight. Her eyes connected with her husband's over her daughter's shoulder and he gave her a small smile. She brushed her lips over the dark haired head on her shoulder, "Always. Welcome home mo bairn."

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mo bairn = my baby


	14. Chapter 14-Godmother

**Okay Lovelies! Chapter 14 is really short and it's honestly just a little filler chapter between 13 and 15. 15 is the last one, so get ready! I hope you enjoy this and look forward to the next one!**

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Chapter 14 – Godmother

Hermione was growing accustomed to her parents. It had come as a bit of a shock at first, but she couldn't deny that they seemed to love each other and there was no doubt that they both loved her. It was a few days after her mother had stopped Bellatrix, she was sitting in the room adjacent to her parents, and Minerva knocked on the door. "Hermione?"

The teen turned around and beckoned the older woman into the room. She had never seen Minerva dress the way that she did around the manner, but unconsciously Hermione had found herself copying her. The teen shook her head, "I think you should call me Vayda." She offered her a smile, "After all mum," she made sure that Minerva heard the term, "that is what you named me."

Minerva had tears in her eyes as she made her way over to sit next to her daughter. "Are you sure?"

Vayda nodded, "Yes. If I am going to be a part of this family, I want to be a part of this family, not who _he_ made me be instead." Over the past few days her father had told her what had happened when she was a baby. They had both let her see their memories, of her and of them, of their relationship. Both Tom and Minerva had been doing everything they could to make their daughter comfortable around them.

"Okay." Minerva smiled briefly before sobering again. "I have to go back to the school tonight. It's Sunday, and Severus made my excuses for me on Friday, but I can't miss anymore. We can't take that risk. I'm needed there."

Vayda nodded, she understood what her mother was saying, but if she was being honest she didn't want her to leave. She felt safer having Minerva around. "Mum?" She looked up at her. "What about me? Where do I go? What do I do now?"

"What ever you would like. You are more than welcome to stay here, and I'm sure your father would love you too, or you can come with me. But if you return to Hogwarts I'm afraid no one will be able to know that you are there."

"I understand," she got up and moved to the window, watching the rain as it fell steadily outside. Neither one of them noticed that Tom was standing in the doorway until he spoke. "You take after your mother." Both heads of dark curls turned to face him, Vayda's face showing her obvious confusion, while Minerva smiled. "She always has liked to watch the rain."

She gave a half smile and turned back to the window, but she didn't say anything. For a moment none of them did, and then the teen broke the silence. "I think it would be best to stay here, but I have to admit that I am little afraid." She turned to face her parents, who were standing together at the foot of her bed, "I've only ever known everyone in this house as my enemy, except for mum, and now, I'm just not sure that I'm going to feel safe."

"Darling," Tom took a step towards her and held out one hand for her to take. Letting it be her choice to come to him. Hesitantly she took her father's hand and he drew her over to stand with the two of them. "We realize that this has come as a shock to you, and we want to do everything that we can to make you comfortable. Perhaps, you would be more inclined to stay if your godmother were to watch out for you?"

Vayda's eyes shot up to her father's and then quickly over to her mother's, "I have a godmother?"

"Yes." Minerva nodded. "As of yesterday you have a godmother, we thought that you might need one, and so," she trailed off, but the curious nature of her daughter wouldn't drop the topic that simply.

"Who?"

"Narcissa." Minerva's answer was almost a whisper, but Vayda still heard her.

"Narcissa?" She was surprised, but the longer she thought about it the more it made sense. She had been the one to call for her mother, she had, though no one but Minerva and Vayda knew, been the one that allowed the prisoners to escape. She was the ideal choice.

"Yes." Her father answered her, even though it was more or less a rhetorical question. "Is that acceptable to you?"

She couldn't help it, she laughed.

"What did I say that was so funny?" Tom looked to his wife and she merely smirked up at him.

"I'd venture a guess that she was surprised you bothered to ask if it was alright instead of just telling her that it was to be. Correct?" She looked at Vayda for affirmation and the girl nodded between laughs.

"Yes. I'm sorry, it's just for the past seven years all people have told me, mum included, was that you didn't ask questions. That whatever you say goes and that's that. I was just shocked that you bothered to ask."

"He only asks the two of you." Narcissa was standing the doorway to Vayda's room, "I heard my name as I was passing by and so I stopped. May I come in?"

"Of course," the teen smiled at her, "Godmother."

Minerva turned to look at Narcissa as she joined them, "I will be returning to the castle tonight, and we thought it would be best if Hermi-Vayda," she corrected herself with a smile, "knew that she had someone here besides her father to turn to should she need anything."

"Of course." Narcissa looked from the mother to the daughter, "You may always come to me my dear. Even if they are both around and you simply don't want to tell them. I will be here for you, always."

The girl was surprised by the tenderness of the Malfoy matriarch's tone and she smiled. Stepping away from her parents she shocked all three adults by embracing her godmother. "Thank you Narcissa."

The blonde laid a hand on her goddaughter's cheek as they stepped apart. "Family, is allowed to call me Cissa, and you my dear, are most certainly family."


	15. Chapter 15-The Battle of Hogwarts

**Hey Lovelies! So this is the final chapter of this story! I hope you all have loved reading this as much as I enjoyed writing it! I want you all to know that I let a friend read this already and she didn't speak to me for two hours, so I hope you all react accordingly! Enjoy!**

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Chapter 15 – The Battle of Hogwarts

Minerva knew the moment that Harry Potter entered the grounds. Severus had included her in the wards around the castle at Tom's request. They both looked up at one another and she nodded once. It was time. Severus rolled up his sleeve and pressed his index finger to the mark adorning his left forearm.

Vayda was laying on the floor in the library, stretched out in front of her godmother's chair like a cat, a mirror image of her mother in years passed by. They both jumped up at the sound of her father's yell from down the hall. They, along with all of the other occupants of the Manor rushed towards the drawing room.

"Father?" She was the only one brave enough to break the silence surrounding them all. "Father what is going on?"

"It would seem that young Mr. Potter is headed for Hogwarts." He pierced his daughter with a steady gaze as he continued. "Go change your clothes Vayda. It's time."

Tears were streaming down her cheeks as she raced from the room, transfiguring her clothing as she went into something more battle ready, yet something that was befitting of her new role as their daughter. She didn't know what she wanted the outcome of the battle to be. Either way she was going to lose someone close to her. Her father, or her best friend, and either way, it would be at the hand of the other.

The inhabitants of Hogwarts had gathered in the Great Hall. Severus and the Carrows standing menacingly at the front, the students and the rest of the staff mixed together below. Very few knew that Harry Potter was among them, and those that did were keeping quiet. When everything had settled down Harry parted the crowd, coming to stand in the empty part of the hall.

He drew his wand on Snape and the two began to duel. Nothing over the top, and Severus was merely deflecting. He intended no harm to befall the young man before him. When he had successfully taken out the two Death Eaters behind him he locked eyes with Minerva and she moved.

"Stop." Her voice rang clear through the hall. "Both of you. Stop, now." She glared at Severus, who immediately lowered his wand, and to the surprise of many in the hall, bowed.

"Yes, My Lady." His voice was cold, but she didn't doubt for a second that it was genuine. He, like herself, had been on both sides for far too long. One way or another, all of that would end tonight.

Harry didn't know what to do. He had trusted McGonagall, but when Snape bowed to her he was just as shocked as everyone else. He, like a few others, knew of her relationship with Severus's master, and that alone was causing him to question her loyalty to Dumbledore. Someone that Harry had long believed in. When he didn't lower his wand Severus's voice rang out. "I would watch where I aimed that wand Potter. You have no idea who you're pointing it at."

"Oh I think I do Headmaster." His eyes moved from Snape to McGonagall, and he inclined his head to her, not trusting either one of them enough to lose eye contact, "Lady Voldemort."

Shocked gasps rang through the hall, but Minerva only smiled. "Have you completed your mission Mr. Potter? Are all of the pieces of my husband's soul destroyed?"

"Not yet." He answered her through clenched teeth, as if he didn't want to answer her at all. "No they are not."

"And how many do you have left?" She asked simply, as if his wand was not still pointed at her chest and he had not ousted her relationship to the entire castle.

"Two."

"Three." Minerva's attention shifted at the sound of her daughter's voice. "He forgot to count himself." Minerva smiled as Vayda made her way up the aisle towards her. There were whispers all around, and by the time she reached her mother Harry asked the question that everyone was whispering.

"Hermione?"

She nodded. "You forgot to count yourself Harry. That night in Godric's Hollow, you became a horcrux as well."

"So I have to die?" He didn't sound sad, or even upset by the fact. It was more like he knew it had to happen, like he had somehow already accepted his fate.

"Yes, and no." She smiled. "I believe you will be presented with a choice,"

"Oh yes." Vayda hid her smile as her father's voice echoed through the hall cutting her off. "You have a choice Mr. Potter, a couple of them in fact. And right now your choice is if you will meet me in the forest of your own accord, or if I will have to kill my way through throngs of people to get to you? It's up to you. You have one hour."

People began to move all at once and no one noticed Ron and a few of the other members of Dumbledore's Army slip out of the Great Hall in pursuit of the other two remaining horcruxes. Minerva and Vayda shared a glance and then they both turned to Harry.

"Harry?" Hermione's voice pulled him from his thoughts. "Are you going to the forest, or will he be coming here?" He didn't answer her, instead he took off at a dead run for the front doors of the castle, both Riddle women right on his heels.

When they reached the clearing in the forest Harry was not surprised to see that Voldemort was not alone. All of his most loyal Death Eaters surrounded them, but it wasn't to them that the Dark Lord spoke. "Leave." He locked eyes with his wife, before looking at his daughter, and then over to Narcissa, who was standing just to his left. "Narcissa, escort the two of them back to the Great Hall. Now."

The blonde nodded and the three women left the clearing, two of them protesting until a look from Tom cut them off short. In the moment that Harry let his eyes follow them out of the clearing Tom struck. A flash of brilliant green light shot from the tip of his wand, and in a second a soft thump was heard as Harry's body hit the ground.

Minutes passed, and they felt like hours. Vayda was sitting between her mother and her godmother on the steps of the castle, watching the forest. None of them had said a word since they were sent out of the clearing, though the two Riddle women were both crying softly. They heard the doors open behind them and the school seemed to come pouring out. A hand on Vayda's shoulder caused her to look up into Ronald's face. "Hermione?"

"What?" She snapped.

"Hermione, what are you doing with them?"

She looked at him confused before she realized that he was referring to the two women on either side of her. She shook her head, "They are on my side Ronald."

"Your side? Which side are you on now Hermione?"

She looked to slowly from side to side at her mother and her godmother before turning back to face Ronald. "Both." She answered simply before a gasp from someone in the crowd drew her attention to the edge of the forest. Her father was making his way towards them, followed closely by his Death Eaters, and to everyone but the three women's surprise, the body of Harry Potter.

"Harry!" Vayda heard Ginny's scream, and she couldn't help the tears that escaped down her own cheeks.

"Harry Potter is dead." Her father's voice rang out, but just as he was about to speak again, he was cut off.

"Don't be so sure about that Tom." Everyone's heads whipped around to stare. Harry's body was no longer floating behind the mass of Death Eaters; instead he was standing to the side, in the clearing between the two parties.

"How?" Tom's nostril's flared and he raised his wand to curse the boy again, but Minerva was faster. She jumped between the two and without another word Tom lowered his wand. Not daring to threaten his wife. "Move Minnie."

"No." She was staring at him, hard. "You know you don't have to do that again."

"Minerva…" He didn't beg her, he was above that, but there was no mere suggestion in his voice either. "Move."

Minerva didn't have a chance to respond because at the same moment that she stepped to one side to try and refocus her husband's attention Harry had sent a stunner straight for Tom. Her side step had placed Minerva in the direct line of fire, and the red blast hit her square in the back.

"NO!" Vayda's scream was enough to stop all movement but her own. She rushed forward, out of her godmother's grasp and drew her wand. Waving it over her mother as soon as she crouched beside her. She breathed a sigh of relief when her mother's breathing evened out and she began to open her eyes. She glanced up then, to tell her father that her mother was all right, only to see her father raising his wand on Harry once again. "Father stop!"

Every pair of eyes on the grounds shifted so that they were looking at the girl pulling Minerva to her feet. Two sets of identical brownish green eyes were pleading were locked on Tom, pleading with him. Looking back and forth between them he lowered his wand from where it was trained on Harry.

Harry was too stunned by Hermione's outburst to even consider drawing his wand on his foe, and he wasn't the only one. For a moment longer, no one seemed to move, and then Minerva spoke. "Harry?" He shifted his attention to his former professor. "The prophecy has been fulfilled, you died by Tom's hand. Neither one of you need kill each other again."

Harry didn't say anything for a moment; he was too busy staring at his best friend, who was now clinging to his enemy's arm. "What the bloody hell is going on here?" It was as if time had stopped moving all around them. Both sets of people on either side were silent, as if they were all waiting to see how the boy's question would be answered.

"Harry," Vayda let go of her father's arm and took a step towards her best friend, casting a quick glance over her shoulder she smiled and then faced the young man in front of her, "those are my parents, and I beg of you, please don't kill them."

Harry was stunned, "Your, your," he looked from Hermione to the two people behind her, Tom Riddle's arm slipping around his wife's waist as their daughter joined them, "they are your parents?"

"Yes," she nodded with a small smile, stepping into her father and allowing his arm to settle around her shoulders, "not everything is the way that we were always told Harry. Please," she locked eyes with him for a second before turning her pleading gaze on her father, "let's talk about this before we go any further."

Tom kissed the top of her head and pulled both of his girl's closer to his sides. "Of course Vayda." He turned the three of them around and headed towards the castle, the people parting like the sea before them as they went. "Come along Mr. Potter." He called over his shoulder, and with that the three Riddles disappeared through the grand, oak doors into the Entrance Hall.

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 **Soo...? Do you hate me? Do you want to know what happened in the end? Are you surprised at all? Let me know!**


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